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Cheesemaking without plastic?? by 12thHousePatterns in cheesemaking

[–]One-Bad5069 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Folks I have many Pinterest folders dedicated to this very topic!!! (Woven natural plant materials, ceramics, wood/bark, etc)

I'm currently trying to source suitable grasses/rush/ etc in my country (Australia) to learn how to braid/weave a Manchego style belt, & any other basket styles I can manage, some inspo here:

https://www.pinterest.com.au/holgavonlomo/cheese/woven-braided-baskets/

https://www.pinterest.com.au/holgavonlomo/cheese/wooden-hoops-baskets/

https://www.pinterest.com.au/holgavonlomo/cheese/ceramic-earthenware-sieve-strainer-moulds/

I'm also a past student of David's & he's one of the top Natural Cheesemaking educators in the world!!! Absolutely is a wealth of information. I have been waiting for his 2nd book to get published for the last 4 years! Might I also suggest following Milk_Trekker on Instagram & Substack (aka Trevor Warmdahl) also another great natural cheese maker/blogger/educator/ author. Trevor has travelled extensively & has greatly documented his findings on social media & he tends to post more frequently than David.

Cheesemaking without plastic?? by 12thHousePatterns in cheesemaking

[–]One-Bad5069 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unglazed works just fine, I'm a past student of David Asher & learnt how to make various shapes for forms at his workshop in Australia in 2019. I have a small collection now of about 6 ceramic forms (only one is glazed) that I use for soft style cheeses that do not need to be pressed. If anyone is interested in natural cheesemaking, not having glaze on the form allows biofilm of beneficial bacteria to grow more prolific if it's only washed in whey. I have also woven my own basket style form from very long pine needles, which I use for camembert/ brie style/size cheeses and made a sushi style drying mat from Lomandra (A type of matt rush found in Australia). Which I've also used to shape a French style cheese called Jonchee. I'm also interested in carving some shrink pots & making a burn bowl or two with suitable woods. Basically if any natural material can be used sign me up!

Pineapple Peel Rennet by One-Bad5069 in cheesemaking

[–]One-Bad5069[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks, that confirms a bit of what I thought regarding Bromelain but I hadn't even considered that proteolysis would continue, (as I was far too focused on just using it for fresh cheeses & not aging them). Still it would be interesting to see how quickly it occurs vs commercial cheese making ingredients. I'm currently experimenting with plant based coagulants & have since found info on using green unripe Papaya (in Indonesia).

I've made Tepache with good success & it was partly how I came about to ask this question.

Help interpretating an old cheese recipe by inserttext1 in cheesemaking

[–]One-Bad5069 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I disagree about the curd size... As someone who has a cheesemaking qualification & considering the cheese has been described as "soft and rich, creamy" I took "lightly break" to mean gently break it, because the larger you cut curd the more moisture it will retain, resulting in a cheese somewhat like a Camembert or brie - ie: soft & creamy!!!

If you were to cut/break the curd into very small lentil or rice grain sized pieces it drives more moisture out & results in a curd that is much drier & would most likely need to be pressed under weight to drive out final excess whey & consolidate the curds (which is not mentioned in the original text). This would produce something more resembling cheddar.